speak japanese with confidence

I have found in my many years of teaching Japanese that students can understand and retain lots of written language and explanations – passive learning – but feel much less confi dent wh

Speak Japanese with

confi dence

Helen Gilhooly

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First published in UK 2005 as Teach Yourself Japanese Conversation by Hodder Education,

part of Hachette UK, 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH.

First published in US 2005 as Teach Yourself Japanese Conversation by The McGraw-Hill

Companies, Inc.

This edition published 2010.

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Copyright © 2005, 2010 Helen Gilhooly

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Contents

Contents

Track listing .v

Introduction 1

Only got a minute? 2

Only got fi ve minutes? 4

Only got ten minutes? 8

Conversation 1: Introductions and greetings 16

Part 1: Arriving at the airport .16

Part 2: Meeting and greeting 16

Conversation 2: Making phone calls 18

Part 1: Receiving a message 18

Part 2: Speaking on the phone 18

Conversation 3: Eating out 20

Part 1: In a coff ee shop .20

Part 2: In a Japanese restaurant 20

Conversation 4: Shopping 22

Part 1: Buying a camera fi lm 22

Part 2: Buying Japanese souvenirs 22

Conversation 5: Buying food and drink to take home 24

Part 1: In the food hall 24

Part 2: Buying Japanese rice wine 24

Conversation 6: Asking for directions 26

Part 1: Where is Tokyo station? .26

Part 2: Where is the Meiji Shrine? 26

Conversation 7: Sightseeing 28

Part 1: Visiting a famous shrine 28

Part 2: Looking around Tokyo 28

Conversation 8: Feeling ill 30

Part 1: Saying what’s wrong 30

Part 2: Going to the pharmacist .30

Conversation 9: On the move 32

Part 1: Taking the bullet train 32

Part 2: Finding the right platform 32

Conversation 10: Visiting 34

Part 1: Welcome to my home 34

Part 2: Having something to eat 36

CD3 38

Survival phrases .38

Arriving at the airport – spoken at normal speed 38

Arriving at the airport – version 2 38

Exchanging business cards 38

Air stewardess announcement 40

Speaking on the phone – spoken at normal speed 40

Making phone calls – version 2 40

A more formal phone conversation .40

Answerphone message .42

In a Japanese restaurant – spoken at normal speed .42

In a Japanese restaurant – version 2 42

Business lunch 42

Fast food restaurant .44

Buying Japanese souvenirs – spoken at normal speed 44

Buying Japanese souvenirs – version 2 (with honorifi c language) 44

Shopping – version 3 46

Number practice 46

Department store announcement 46

In the food hall – spoken at normal speed 48

In the food hall – version 2 48

The fi sh market 48

Where is the Meiji Shrine? – spoken at normal speed .50

Asking for directions – version 2 .50

Asking for directions – version 3, with casual Japanese 50

Sightseeing .52

More on the weather .52

Weather forecast 52

Feeling ill .52

Feeling ill – version 2 52

Feeling ill – casual Japanese 54

Taking the bullet train – version 2 54

The speaking clock 54

Train announcements 56

Welcome to my home – casual Japanese .56

Cultural information 58

Listening skills: Survival phrases 63

Japanese–English glossary 64

English–Japanese glossary 68

Essential vocabulary 72

Subject index 74

Tracks 2–10: Conversation 1: Introductions and greetings

Tracks 11–17: Conversation 2: Making phone calls

Tracks 18–24: Conversation 3: Eating out

Tracks 25–31: Conversation 4: Shopping

Tracks 32–8: Conversation 5: Buying food and drink to take home

CD2

Tracks 1–7: Conversation 6: Asking for directions

Tracks 8–14: Conversation 7: Sightseeing

Tracks 15–21: Conversation 8: Feeling ill

Tracks 22–8: Conversation 9: On the move

Tracks 29–35: Conversation 10: Visiting

CD3

Track 1: Introduction and survival phrases

Tracks 2–5: Conversation 1: Introductions and greetings

Tracks 6–9: Conversation 2: Making phone calls

Tracks 10–13: Conversation 3: Eating out

Tracks 14–18: Conversation 4: Shopping

Tracks 19–21: Conversation 5: Buying food and drink to take home

Tracks 22–4: Conversation 6: Asking for directions

Tracks 25–7: Conversation 7: Sightseeing

Tracks 28–30: Conversation 8: Feeling ill

Tracks 31–3: Conversation 9: On the move

Track 34: Conversation 10: Visiting

Track 35: Congratulations!

Recorded at Alchemy Studios, London

Cast: Masashi Fujimoto, Megumi Kubota, Eiji Kusuhara,

Sarah Sherborne, You-ri Yamanaka

Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fl uently and precisely, diff erentiating fi ner shades of meaning even in more complex situations.

fl exibly and eff ectively for social, academic and professional purposes

Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

) Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to

areas of most immediate relevance (e.g very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment) Can communicate

in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.

© Council of Europe www.coe.int/lang

“Global scale” of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR)

I have designed the course so that with only relatively small amounts

of vocabulary and grammar structures you can say what you need to

say in a number of everyday situations including meeting and greeting, shopping and eating, travelling and sightseeing

I have found in my many years of teaching Japanese that students

can understand and retain lots of written language and explanations

– passive learning – but feel much less confi dent when they have to

speak out loud and put all their learning into meaningful conversations – active learning CDs 1 and 2 are designed to push you into action –

you will begin each topic by learning new vocabulary and grammar

explanations and will immediately put these into practice by listening to and taking part in conversations

I have designed CD 3 to help you sharpen your listening skills You

may have managed to ask a perfect Japanese question but will you

understand the answer? People often panic because they cannot

understand every word but actually you need to train yourself to pick

out the important information This is especially so with Japanese where you might hear a range of sentence endings depending on the politeness level of the speaker but the key information (the time, a direction, a

price) will still be embedded within it CD3 will teach you techniques to keep your cool and hone in on that all-important key information

You will fi nd Speak Japanese with confi dence immediately useful

whether you are planning a trip to Japan or you just want the personal satisfaction of speaking Japanese confi dently

Gambatte kudasai! Good luck!

Only got a minute?

Everyone says Japanese is a diffi cult language to learn so it must be, musn’t it? Let me reassure you There are aspects of the Japanese language that are surprisingly straightforward:

There is no masculine and feminine in Japanese and most words don’t have a plural.

Verb endings remain the same regardless of who

does the action: kaimasu can mean I buy, he buys or we buy.

There are only two main tenses – the past and the

present/future: kaimasu covers buy and will buy, kaimashita

means bought.

Pronunciation is relatively easy and very regular.

So you aren’t going to be grappling with a lot of

complex grammar rules when you start learning Japanese

Of course, much of the vocabulary is new but even in this aspect there is a pleasant surprise – the Japanese language has always been a great ‘word borrower’ and it is rich with

loan words from English, for example, aisukurīmu ( ice

cream), kompyūtā (computer).

Only got a minute?

Even if you have never studied Japanese before,

because of the huge economic and cultural infl uence that

Japan has had worldwide you will almost certainly already

be familiar with many Japanese words and terms such as:

karaoke, origami, sumō, sushi, manga.

There are more challenging aspects to learning

Japanese but this is the case when you learn any language and it is often these challenges that give the greatest

satisfaction And you certainly won’t be alone in your quest

to master Japanese – about 3 million people worldwide are currently learning Japanese.

Speak Japanese with confi dence aims to help

you to interact with Japanese people through a range of

everyday situations The course will focus on your needs as a beginner and by the end you will feel confi dent to speak and understand Japanese in a number of practical situations.

Japanese is spoken by 126 million people around the world There

are a large number of Japanese speakers in North and South America, and it is the second language of older Chinese and Korean people who either live in Japan or had to learn Japanese during the occupation of their countries And with Japan’s rapid worldwide industrial growth from the 1970s onwards, people around the world are keen to learn Japanese It is the fi fth most popular foreign language in the USA, the

fi rst modern foreign language on the curriculum in many Australian and New Zealand secondary schools and a popular non-European language

in secondary schools in the UK Currently about 3 million people,

including 2 million Chinese, are learning Japanese around the world

Is Japanese a diffi cult language? A popular perception is that Japanese

is very diffi cult and people will always be impressed when you tell them you are learning Japanese Of course, it would be misleading to say it does not have any diffi cult elements and it is generally held that it takes about fi ve years to reach a similar level in Japanese as you would in

three years in a European language However (and you may wish to keep this secret so that you can keep on impressing your friends and colleagues!), there are some features of the Japanese language that make

it very simple and logical, especially when you compare it with the

irregularities of the English language Here are three of those features:

1 Regular grammar rules

• There is no masculine and feminine in Japanese and most words

don’t have a specifi c plural

• There is no conjugation of verbs so the verb ending remains the same

regardless of who does the action For example, I go, he goes and so

forth are all covered by ikimasu in Japanese.

Only got a minute? Only got fi ve minutes?

• There are only two main tenses: the past and the present/future, with

a ‘probably’ used for future events which are not certain (e.g the

weather)

• There is no defi nite/indefi nite article (the, a).

2 Regular pronunciation rules

• Japanese has relatively easy pronunciation rules Sounds are created

by combining the fi ve standard vowel sounds, a, i, u, e and o, with

one of the 19 consonant sounds (e.g ka, ki, ku, ke, ko) These sounds

are always pronounced in the same way and so, once learned, are

easy to remember and use

• Unlike English, there is no stress accent; in other words, every

syllable has equal stress For example, the city name Hiroshima

should be pronounced shi-ma and not Hi-RO-shi-ma or

Hi-ro-SHI-ma

• Some Japanese words using identical sounds are distinguished in

pronunciation through use of high and low pitch The word hashi

can mean either bridge or chopsticks Hàshi means chopsticks and

hashì means bridge (the accent is my way of showing you where the

stress is) However, this pitch is neither as strong nor as complex as tonal languages such as Chinese

3 Loan words

The Japanese language is rich with words borrowed from other

languages, in particular English This means that, although Japanese

is not related structurally to English, you will fi nd many recognizable

clues Read these Japanese words out loud and you will see how similar they are to English:

Food and drink: kēkī (cake), kōra (cola), sandoitchi (sandwich),

hottodoggu (hotdog).

There are also many Japanese or Japanese-invented words which

have become part of everyday language, such as walkman, pokemon,

karaoke , kimono, samurai.

I said that it would be wrong to give the impression that there are

no diffi cult features in Japanese but I believe it is because of these

challenges that people become truly fascinated with Japanese and the wonderfully logical way in which the language works and the way in which the language refl ects Japanese culture and vice versa Here are some of those features:

• Apart from loan words, there are no links between English and

Japanese The Japanese language originated in central Asia and it is structurally closest to Korean It is not structurally linked to Chinese but it is from China that it received and developed its complex

writing system

• There is a respectful language system which has many layers of polite and humble words and structures However, as a foreign speaker

of Japanese you can safely use the neutral polite form known as the

masu-desu form which is relatively straightforward

• The sentence order is different to English Japanese sentence order has the basic pattern of SOV (subject object verb) with the verb

spoken at the end of the sentence, like German English, on the other hand, has the pattern of SVO (subject verb object) For example, in

English we would say I (subject) eat (verb) meat (object), which in

Japanese translates as watashi wa niku o tabemasu meaning literally

I meat eat This means that, essentially, Japanese sentence order is

‘backwards’ to English and the main point to remember is that the verb comes at the end of the sentence

• Japanese has a system of grammar markers, known as particles,

which have no intrinsic meaning but mark the function of most

Only got a minute? Only got fi ve minutes?

nouns in a sentence In the sentence watashi wa niku o tabemasu (I

eat meat) the subject (watashi) is marked with particle wa and the

object (niku) is followed by particle o.

• There is a very wide vocabulary with the infl uences of China, Korea and the West adding to the rich tapestry of words which make up the Japanese language

The aim of Speak Japanese with confi dence is to help you to interact

with Japanese people through a range of everyday and useful situations The course will focus on your needs as a beginner and by the end you

will feel confi dent to speak and understand Japanese in a number of

practical situations

Why should I learn Japanese?

You are probably reading this because you are seriously considering taking up Japanese or indeed perhaps you are learning it already You may well have been told by people that Japanese is a very diffi cult

language to learn Well let’s start by dispelling a few myths and instead consider some of the facts:

1 Japanese is spoken by approximately 126 million people as their fi rst language both in Japan as well as by Japanese emigrants around the world

2 During the Meiji Period (1868–1912) when there was shortage

of work in Japan and over-population problems, over 1 million

Japanese emigrated to the US, Canada and Brazil

3 Japanese is the second language of older Chinese and Korean people who are either resident in Japan or had to learn Japanese during the occupation of their countries

4 In recent years, countries such as Australia have become emigration destinations for well-off retired Japanese couples and there is a need for Australians to be able to care for this elderly Japanese population

5 Japan’s position in recent decades as a leading economy has meant more and more people worldwide need to communicate and do

business with the Japanese

6 English is the fi rst foreign language taught in Japanese schools but many Japanese are not confi dent about using it despite the fact that many Japanese people need to work and live abroad for at least part

of their working career or at least communicate with foreign business people and companies

So when we consider these facts, there is clearly a need to be able to communicate in Japanese and a strong chance of coming into contact with Japanese speakers either in Japan or elsewhere in the world In

Only got ten minutes?

fact, since the 1970s and in line with Japanese industrial growth abroad, more and more people around the world have begun to learn Japanese

as a foreign language, especially in countries around the Pacifi c Rim

such as East Asia, South-East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and North America It has become the fi fth most popular foreign language in the

USA, it is the fi rst modern foreign language on the curriculum in many Australian and New Zealand secondary schools and in the UK it is a

popular non-European language in secondary schools An estimated

3 million people around the globe, including 2 million Chinese, are

currently learning Japanese

Is Japanese diffi cult?

I am not going to say to you that there is nothing diffi cult about

Japanese but I am going to show you how important features of the

language make it a very approachable and exciting language to learn

And because people think it is diffi cult you will always make an

impression when you say you are learning Japanese! It is also important

to remember that there are challenging aspects of any language you

might learn and that English is considered the second most diffi cult

language in the world after Chinese

In considering how the language works it is fi rstly important to point

out that Japanese is relatively easy to learn to speak at beginner’s level Let’s start with the features that make Japanese straightforward to learn:Regular grammar rules

• There is no masculine, feminine or specifi c plural in Japanese

• There is no conjugation of verbs In other words, the verb ending

remains the same regardless of who does the action (I go, he goes and

so forth are all covered by ikimasu in Japanese).

• There are only two main tenses: the past and the present/future,

with a ‘probably’ used for future events that are not certain (e.g the weather)

• There is no defi nite/indefi nite article (the, a).

Pronunciation – hatsuon

Japanese has relatively easy pronunciation rules Sounds are created by

combining the fi ve standard vowel sounds, a, i, u, e and o, with one

of the 19 consonant sounds (e.g ka, ki, ku, ke, ko) These sounds are

always pronounced in the same way and so, once learned, are easy to remember and use

The fi ve Japanese vowels in order are:

The Japanese language is rich with words borrowed from other

languages, in particular English This means that, although Japanese

is not related structurally to English, you will fi nd many recognizable

clues, for example: kamera (camera), masukomi (mass communication),

toire (toilet) and miruku (milk).

Other features of the language are more challenging because they work differently to English but it is often those very challenges that give a language its uniqueness and fascination

Let’s now consider four of the more challenging aspects of the Japanese language – sentence structure, levels of speech, written Japanese and the vocabulary:

Sentence structure

• Japanese sentence order has the basic pattern of SOV (subject object verb) with the verb spoken at the end of the sentence, like German

Only got ten minutes?

English, on the other hand, has the pattern of SVO (subject verb

object) For example, in English we would say I (subject) eat (verb)

meat (object), which in Japanese translates as watashi wa niku o

tabemasu, meaning literally I meat eat In addition, the subject is not

used in Japanese if it is clear who or what the subject is and so niku

o tabemasu also can be translated as I eat meat This means that,

essentially, Japanese sentence order is ‘backwards’ to English and

the main point to remember is that the verb comes at the end of the sentence

• Japanese has a system of grammar markers, known as particles,

which have no intrinsic meaning but mark the function of most

nouns in a sentence In the sentence watashi wa niku o tabemasu (I

eat meat) the subject (watashi) is marked with particle wa and the

object (niku) is followed by particle o.

• Instead of prepositions (in, to, from, etc.), Japanese has post-positions

(in other words, the word is placed after not before For example,

gakko kara means from school but is written school from.

• Adjectives as well as verbs change their endings according to tense, negative or affi rmative statements as well as other forms Look at this table:

English adjective Japanese adjective English verb Japanese verb

it is not delicious oishikunai I don’t eat tabemasen

Levels of speech

Japanese people use different levels of language depending on the status, age and sex of the person being addressed There are three main levels

of polite language (also called honorifi c language or keigo) These are

humble (kenjōgo), respectful (sonkeigo) and neutral polite (teineigo).

Humble and respectful language is used by a speaker when the person being addressed is of a higher ranking (age, sex and work status can

all be factors) The speaker uses humble language to refer to their own actions or their in-group (family or company), for example, a shop

assistant and their store It has the effect of lowering the speaker’s

status and deepening respect for the person being addressed Respectful language is used by the same speaker in referring to the person being addressed and their actions By contrast, the higher status person,

for example the customer, would usually reply using more informal

language

Neutral polite language is used when there is no need to show specifi c respect to a person For example, it would be used by two people who didn’t know each other very well but were of the same social status And fi nally, outside of polite levels of language, plain language is used

in more informal situations (e.g between two friends) or by a higher ranking person to a more junior person

In case you still feel baffl ed by these levels of speech, take comfort in the fact that young Japanese people today are using less and less honorifi c language In fact, some companies have taken steps to train new

employees in the correct use of honorifi c language because they are no longer using it naturally In any case, as a foreign speaker of Japanese, it

is perfectly acceptable to use the neutral polite forms (masu/desu) and,

if you are unsure, you could be in danger of using honorifi c language inappropriately You will come across certain set phrases, however,

in your learning of Japanese, which you can gradually add to your

repertoire and feel safe in using For example:

Itadakimasu I humbly receive (said before eating).

Gochisōsama deshita That was a feast (said after eating).

Written Japanese

Even though the idea of learning a whole new script (in fact, three in total) can be very daunting, many foreign learners of Japanese become fascinated by the script and fi nd it challenging, exciting and ultimately very satisfying to master

The three Japanese scripts are kanji (Chinese characters), hiragana and

katakana Each has its own specifi c function and the three are used in

Only got ten minutes?

combination in writing Kanji are ideographs which convey a specifi c

meaning, word or idea In Japan there is an approved list of 1945 kanji

which are needed to read texts such as newspapers thoroughly Children

learn these 1945 kanji during their nine years of compulsory education

Hiragana and katakana are collectively known as kana and are phonetic

alphabets or syllabaries meaning that each symbol represents a sound/

phoneme

Hiragana symbols are used to write the grammatical parts of words and

sentences, and Japanese words which don’t have a kanji For example, when writing verbs, the kanji expresses the main idea or meaning and

hiragana are used to indicate the tense (past or present) or function of

the verb Katakana symbols are used for writing non-Japanese words

which have been introduced into the language

A wide vocabulary

One fi nal challenging feature is the very wide vocabulary in the Japanese language Japanese itself is part of a family of languages known as

the Altaic languages and its origins can be traced back to Central

Asia Included in this group is Korean to which Japanese is closest in

structure Japanese also has some similarities of vocabulary with the

Malayo-Polynesian group of languages which cover a wide area from

Taiwan to Easter Island in the South Pacifi c, perhaps as a result of

ancient Polynesian explorations Chinese and Japanese languages do not share any common origins but the Japanese writing system originated

in China and China has had a very important infl uence on Japanese

culture

Speaking Japanese

I’ve said that it is relatively straightforward to pronounce Japanese It is not a tonal language (unlike Chinese) and every syllable in Japanese is given equal stress, whereas in English we give more stress to some parts

of the word than others Look at this example:

• (Japanese) a-me-ri-ka Each syllable has equal stress

To make your accent sound more authentic try the following:

• Don’t stress parts of words in the English-style, give equal stress to each syllable

• When you see a macron over a vowel, for example, jūdō, the syllable

is about twice the normal length (two beats) but say the word

smoothly

• When you see a double consonant pause slightly before saying it,

as you would with this English word: headdress (pause after hea

– not head dress) So you pronounce yukkuri (slowly) like this: yu

(slight pause) ku ri You will come across these double consonants in Japanese – kk, ss, tt, pp, cc/tc, for example, Hokkaidō (North island

in pronunciation through use of high and low pitch The word hashi

can mean either bridge or chopsticks Hàshi means chopsticks and hashì

means bridge (the accent is my way of showing you where the stress

is) Of course, context will also usually indicate the meaning of a word and pitch is neither as strong nor as complex as tonal languages such as Chinese

One fi nal interesting feature of pronunciation is that there is no

separate l and r sound and the Japanese can only pronounce these as

a single sound, somewhere between the two This has led to a number

of misunderstandings for Japanese people when trying to distinguish

between, for example, the English words lamb and ram or lice and rice

The foreign learner of Japanese should aim to keep the r sound soft (not like the French r) and aim at a sound somewhere between r and l.

Only got ten minutes?

Are there accent and dialects in Japanese?

You won’t come across the variety of accents and dialects in Japanese

that, for example, you fi nd in Europe Although there are a large

number of local dialects (hōgen) in Japan, they do not vary as greatly as

some of the European regional languages and, as a result of centralized compulsory education and the infl uence of television and radio, the

vast majority of Japanese people speak hyōjungo or standard Japanese

(based on the Tokyo dialect) alongside any local dialect One dialect

which is still widely used today is the Kansai dialect (includes the cities

of Kyoto and Osaka) An example of this is the word okini meaning

thank you (in standard Japanese the word is arigatō).

What will Speak Japanese with

confi dence off er me?

The aim of this course is to help you to interact with Japanese people

through a range of everyday and useful situations The course will focus

on your needs as a beginner or improver and by the end you will feel

confi dent to speak and understand Japanese in a number of practical

situations

Conversation 1: Introductions and greetings

PART 1: ARRIVING AT THE AIRPORT

LI CD1, TR 2

Miyuki Aa*! Sarah-san! Nihon e yōkoso.

Sarah Miyuki-san! Konnichiwa.

Miyuki Chris-san desu ka Hajimemashite,

Tanaka Miyuki desu

Chris Hajimemashite, Chris Adams desu

Dōzo yoroshiku.

Miyuki Dōzo yoroshiku

Insight

Japanese, unlike English, has no stress accent so every syllable

has equal stress For example, the city name Hiroshima should

be pronounced shi-ma and not Hi-RO-shi-ma or

Hi-ro-SHI-ma You will learn this best by listening carefully to these conversations and trying to imitate the way the Japanese actors speak

PART 2: MEETING AND GREETING

LI CD1, TR 7

Sarah Ohayō gozaimasu.

Japanese guest Ohayō gozaimasu

(Sarah gestures for the Japanese guest to go fi rst.)

Sarah Dōzo.

Japanese guest Aa, sumimasen.

***

Chris Konbanwa.

Miyuki Konbanwa Dōzo

(Miyuki hands the information to Chris.)

Chris Arigatō gozaimasu.

***

Conversation 1: Introductions and greetings

Miyuki Hey, Sarah! Welcome to Japan.

Sarah Miyuki! Hello!

Miyuki Are you Chris? How do you do?

I am Miyuki Tanaka.

Chris How do you do? I am Chris Adams

I’m pleased to meet you.

Miyuki Pleased to meet you.

Sarah Good morning.

Japanese guest Good morning.

(Sarah gestures for the Japanese guest to go fi rst.)

Sarah Go ahead, after you.

Japanese guest Oh, excuse me (thank you for your trouble).

***

Chris Good evening.

Miyuki Good evening There you are.

(Miyuki hands the information to Chris.)

Chris Thank you.

***

*The keywords for each conversation are written in bold.

Conversation 2: Making phone calls

PART 1: RECEIVING A MESSAGE

LI CD1, TR 11

Chris Konnichiwa

Receptionist Konnichiwa Adams-san desu ne.

Chris Hai, sō desu.

Receptionist Tanaka Miyuki-san ni denwa shite kudasai

Denwa bangō wa 232 1321 desu.

Chris Sumimasen, mō ichido itte kudasai.

Receptionist 232 1321 desu.

Chris Arigatō

PART 2: SPEAKING ON THE PHONE

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Chris Moshi moshi Miyuki-san desu ka.

Woman Sumimasen Miyuki-san wa ima rusu desu.

Chris Aa, sō desu ka

Woman Keitai denwa bangō wa 07792 – 323245 desu.

Chris Arigatō gozaimasu Shitsurei shimasu.

Insight

In English we use hello in many situations but konnichiwa is

only used from late morning until early evening There are

different expressions for other situations/times For example,

ohayō gozaimasu (good morning) – this is used for the fi rst

greeting of the day, so Japanese people on shifts can use it at

the beginning of an evening shift!

Conversation 2: Making phone calls

Chris How do you do? I am Chris Adams

Pleased to meet you.

Husband How do you do? I am Ken’ichi Tanaka

Pleased to meet you.

Chris Hello.

Receptionist Hello, It’s Mr Adams, isn’t it?

Chris Yes, that’s right.

Receptionist Please phone Miyuki Tanaka

Her number is 232 1321.

Chris Sorry, could you repeat that?

Receptionist It’s 232 1321.

Chris Thanks.

Chris Hello Is that Miyuki?

Woman Sorry, Miyuki isn’t in at present.

Chris Aah, is that right?

Woman Her mobile phone number is 07792 – 323245.

Chris Thank you Sorry for disturbing you.

Conversation 3: Eating out

PART 1: IN A COFFEE SHOP

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Waiter O-kimari desu ka.

Sarah Hai Hamu sandoitchi to kōhī o kudasai.

Chris Boku wa chīzu sandoitchi to kōhī o

kudasai

Waiter Hamu sandoitchi o hitotsu to, chīzu sandoitchi o hitotsu

to kōhī o futatsu desu ne.

Sarah Hai, sō desu

(A little later)

Chris Kono sandoitchi wa oishii desu.

Sarah Kono kōhī mo oishii desu ne.

Insight

Be careful when you are saying Japanese loan words which

come from English, such as kōhī and sandoitchi If you

pronounce them as English words you may not be understood Make sure you copy and practise the Japanese pronunciation –

in other words, treat them as Japanese words

PART 2: IN A JAPANESE RESTAURANT

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Waitress O-kimari desu ka

Chris Sushi teishoku o kudasai.

Sarah Soshite tempura teishoku o onegaishimasu.

Waitress O-nomimono wa?

Chris Bīru o futatsu to sake o hitotsu kudasai.

Waitress Kashikomarimashita.

Conversation 3: Eating out

Waiter Have you decided?

Sarah Yes A ham sandwich and coff ee, please.

Chris As for me, I’ll have a cheese sandwich and coff ee,

Chris This sandwich is delicious.

Sarah This coff ee also is delicious, isn’t it?

Waitress Have you decided?

Chris Please may I have the sushi set meal?

Sarah And also the tempura set meal, please.

Waitress How about drinks?

Chris Two beers and a sake, please.

Waitress Certainly, Sir.

Chris Sumimasen Kono fi rumu wa ikura desu ka.

Shopkeeper Sore wa go hyaku en desu.

Chris Fuji fi rumu ga arimasu ka.

Shopkeeper Hai, kore desu.

Chris Ikura desu ka

Shopkeeper Kore wa yon hyaku en desu

Chris Jā, Fuji fi rumu o mittsu kudasai.

Shopkeeper Kashikomarimashita Zembu de sen ni hyaku en desu.

Chris Dōzo

Shopkeeper Arigatō gozaimasu

Insight

Did you notice how fi lm – fi rumu – was pronounced? In

Japanese there is no separate l and r sound – they are said as a

single sound, hence confusions for Japanese between English

words such as lice and rice Aim to keep the r sound soft (not

like the French r).

PART 2: BUYING JAPANESE SOUVENIRS

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Shop assistant Irasshaimase.

Sarah Sumimasen Sono ningyō wa ikura desu ka.

Shop assistant Kore wa gosen-en desu.

Sarah Sensu ga arimasu ka.

Shop assistant Hai, arimasu Are wa kyū hyaku en desu.

Sarah Jā, sono ningyō o hitotsu to ano sensu o

mittsu kudasai Soshite kono chōchin o futatsu

Conversation 4: Shopping

Shopkeeper Welcome, how may I help you?

Chris Excuse me, how much is this fi lm?

Shopkeeper That one is 500 yen.

Chris Do you have any Fuji fi lm?

Shopkeeper Yes, this one.

Chris How much is it?

Shopkeeper This one is 400 yen.

Chris Right, I’ll have three Fuji fi lms please.

Shopkeeper Certainly, Sir Altogether that’s 1,200 yen.

Chris There you go.

Shopkeeper Thank you very much.

Shop assistant Welcome, may I help you?

Sarah Excuse me, how much is that doll?

Shop assistant This is 5,000 yen.

Sarah Do you have any fans?

Shop assistant Yes (we have) Those ones over there are 900 yen.

Sarah Right, I’ll have one of that doll and three of

those fans over there, please Also I’ll have two

of these paper lanterns.

Shop assistant Altogether, that is 9,000 yen.

Sarah There you are.

Shop assistant Thank you very much Please shop here again.

Conversation 5: Buying food and drink to take home

PART 1: IN THE FOOD HALL

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Shop assistant Irasshai, irasshaimase!

Sarah Sumimasen Ocha ga arimasu ka.

Shop assistant Hai, iroiro arimasu yo.

Sarah Kore wa ikura desu ka

Shop assistant Sore wa ni sen en desu.

Sarah Chotto takai desu ne.

Shop assistant Kore wa yon hyaku-en desu.

Sarah Zuibun yasui desu ne Misete kudasai Jā, kore o

mittsu kudasai

Shop assistant Kashikomarimashita.

Chris Sumimasen Kono okashi wa ikura desu ka.

Shop assistant Sore wa ichi man-en desu.

Chris Aa! Takai desu ne!

Insight

Gift giving in Japan has an important function in business – it

is a way of thanking clients for their continued custom There

are two main gift-giving seasons: chūgen in July and seibo in

December At these times, very expensive gift packs of fruit,

wine, tinned food and whisky appear in department stores and supermarkets

PART 2: BUYING JAPANESE RICE WINE

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Stallholder Irasshai, irasshai!

Chris Sumimasen Kono osake wa ikura desu ka

Stallholder Sore wa tokkyūshu desu San man-en desu.

Chris San man-en desu ka Takai desu ne

Stallholder Tokubetsuna osake desu yo Kore wa ikkyūshu desu

Gosen-en desu

Chris Sore wa zuibun yasui desu ne Oishii desu ka

Conversation 5: Buying food and drink to take home

Shop assistant Welcome, welcome, how may I help you?

Sarah Excuse me, do you have any green tea?

Shop assistant Yes, we have all sorts.

Sarah How much is this one?

Shop assistant That one is 2,000 yen.

Sarah It’s a bit expensive, isn’t it?

Shop assistant This one is 400 yen.

Sarah That’s a lot cheaper, isn’t it? Please show it to

me Right, I’ll have three of these, please.

Shop assistant Certainly, Madam.

Chris Excuse me These cakes, how much are they?

Shop assistant Those are 10,000 yen.

Chris Wow! They’re expensive, aren’t they!

Stallholder Welcome, welcome.

Chris Excuse me, how much is this sake?

Stallholder That one is special grade It’s 30,000 yen.

Chris 30,000 yen? That’s expensive, isn’t it?

Stallholder It’s special sake you know This one is fi rst grade

It’s 5,000 yen

Chris That one is a lot cheaper, isn’t it? Is it delicious?

Stallholder Oishii desu yo.

Chris Jā sore o hitotsu kudasai

Nikyūshu ga arimasu ka.

Stallholder Hai, iroiro arimasu yo Kore wa oishii desu

Sanzen-en desu

Chris Jā, sore mo hitotsu kudasai

Stallholder Kashikomarimashita

Conversation 6: Asking for directions

PART 1: WHERE IS TOKYO STATION?

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Sarah Sumimasen

Passer-by Hai?

Sarah Tokyo eki wa doko desu ka.

Passer-by Tokyo eki desu ka Massugu itte kudasai

Soshite shingō o migi ni magatte kudasai.

Sarah Shingō o migi desu ne

Passer-by Sō desu Tokyo eki wa hidarigawa ni arimasu

Depāto no mukaigawa desu.

Sarah Hidarigawa desu ne Arigatō gozaimasu

Insight

When listening to and giving directions, remember that the

location of a place is said after the place with no in between

So where we say in English alongside the bank (order is

‘location, place’), you say in Japanese ginkō no soba (order is

‘place, no, location’).

PART 2: WHERE IS THE MEIJI SHRINE?

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Sarah Are! Meiji Jingū wa doko desu ka

Chris Sumimasen Meiji Jingū wa doko desu ka

Conversation 6: Asking for directions

Stallholder It’s delicious, sure.

Chris Right, one of those, please

Do you have any second grade?

Stallholder Yes, we have all sorts This one is delicious

It’s 3,000 yen.

Chris Right, one of those as well, please.

Stallholder Certainly, Sir.

Sarah Excuse me.

Passer-by Yes?

Sarah Where is Tokyo station?

Passer-by Tokyo station? Go straight ahead

And then turn right at the traffi c lights.

Sarah Turn right at the traffi c lights, right?

Passer-by That’s right Tokyo station is located on the left-hand side

It’s opposite the department store.

Sarah The left-hand side? Thank you very much.

Sarah Hey! Where is the Meiji Shrine?

Chris Excuse me, where is the Meiji Shrine?

Passer-by Meiji Jingū desu ka Ē to, massugu itte, ginkō o migi ni

magatte kudasai

Chris Ginkō o migi desu ne

Passer-by Hai, sō desu Sono ginkō wa kōen no soba desu

Meiji Jingū wa kōen no naka ni arimasu.

Chris Wakarimashita Arigatō gozaimasu.

Conversation 7: Sightseeing

PART 1: VISITING A FAMOUS SHRINE

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Miyuki Chris-san, Sarah-san, konnichiwa

Sarah Miyuki-san! Konnichiwa

Miyuki Ii otenki desu ne.

Chris Mainichi hare desu ne

Miyuki-san, kono jinja wa yūmei desu ka.

Miyuki Totemo yūmei desu Dō omoimasu ka.

Chris Subarashii to omoimasu.

Sarah Watashi wa totemo suki desu.

Chris Kono kōen mo suki desu

Miyuki Jā, jinja no naka o mimashō.

Insight

The Japanese love to discuss the weather In fact, it is more

natural to greet someone with a comment about the weather

rather than asking them how they are So remember ii otenki

desu ne (it’s nice weather, isn’t it) or hidoi otenki desu ne (it’s

awful weather, isn’t it) to sound authentically Japanese

PART 2: LOOKING AROUND TOKYO

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Chris Kono biru wa takai desu ne.

Miyuki Kore wa nihon de ichiban takai desu yo.

Conversation 7: Sightseeing

Passer-by The Meiji Shrine? Let’s think, go straight ahead

Then turn right at the bank.

Chris It’s right at the bank, right?

Passer-by Yes, that’s right That bank is alongside the park

The Meiji Shrine is located within the park.

Chris I’ve got it Thank you very much.

Miyuki Chris, Sarah! Hello!

Sarah Miyuki! Hello!

Miyuki It’s nice weather, isn’t it?

Chris Every day is fi ne, isn’t it?

Miyuki, is this shrine famous?

Miyuki It’s very famous What do you think?

Chris I think it is amazing.

Sarah I really like it.

Chris I also like this park.

Miyuki Right, let’s look at the inside of the temple.

Chris This building is high, isn’t it?

Miyuki This is Japan’s highest, you know.

Sarah Sō desu ka Sugoi desu ne.

Miyuki Ano biru o mite kudasai

Dō omoimasu ka

Chris Omoshiroi to omoimasu Boku wa suki desu.

Sarah Watashi wa suki dewa arimasen Hen da to omoimasu.

Conversation 8: Feeling ill

PART 1: SAYING WHAT’S WRONG

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Miyuki Chris-san, dō shita n desu ka.

Chris Chotto … kibun ga warui desu.

Miyuki Kaze o hiita n desu ka.

Chris Atama ga itai desu Onaka mo itai desu.

Miyuki Sō desu ka Nodo ga itai desu ka.

Chris Chotto itai desu ne Mimi mo chotto itai desu.

Miyuki Jā, kaze desu ne Kono kusuri o nonde kudasai.

Sarah Kaze dewa arimasen Futsuka yoi desu yo!

Insight

My students fi nd that keeping a vocabulary book or making

mini fl ashcards (English one side, Japanese the other – try

attaching them to a key ring) really helps them to learn and

review new words You can organize the book alphabetically

or how about by theme (food, body parts, greetings, etc.)?

PART 2: GOING TO THE PHARMACIST

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Pharmacist Irasshaimase

Sarah Sumimasen Atama ga itai desu

Nodo mo chotto itai desu

Pharmacist Netsu ga arimasu ka.

Sarah Hai, sanjū hachi do desu.

Conversation 8: Feeling ill

Sarah Really? It’s incredible, isn’t it?

Miyuki Please look at that building over there

What do you think?

Chris I think it is interesting I like it.

Sarah I don’t like it I think it is weird.

Miyuki Chris, what’s the matter?

Chris I’m a bit … I don’t feel well.

Miyuki Have you got a cold?

Chris I’ve got a headache And a stomach ache.

Miyuki Really? Is your throat sore?

Chris It is a bit sore, yes My ears hurt too.

Miyuki Right, it’s a cold isn’t it? Please take this medicine.

Sarah It’s not a cold It’s a hangover!

Pharmacist Welcome, how may I help you?

Sarah Excuse me, I have a headache

My throat is a little sore too.

Pharmacist Do you have a fever?

Sarah Yes, it’s 38 degrees.

Pharmacist Kono kusuri wa ii desu yo

Ichi-nichi san kai nonde kudasai.

Sarah San kai desu ne

Pharmacist Hai Shokugo ni nonde kudasai.

Sarah Wakarimashita Dōmo arigatō

Conversation 9: On the move

PART 1: TAKING THE BULLET TRAIN

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Chris Kyōto-yuki no kippu o nimai kudasai.

Ticket offi cer Katamichi desu ka Ōfuku desu ka.

Chris Ōfuku desu

Ticket offi cer Zembu de sanman nisen en desu.

Chris Dōzo Tsugi no densha wa nanji desu ka.

Ticket offi cer Jū-ji han desu Yonban-sen desu.

Chris Dōmo arigatō

Insight

When using counters or amounts in Japanese remember to say

the amount after the grammar marker – in this case o – and

before the verb For example, kippu o nimai kudasai (two

tickets please) Other examples are sensu o mittsu kaimashita

(I bought three fans), sake o zuibun nomimashita (I drank a

great deal of sake)

PART 2: FINDING THE RIGHT PLATFORM

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Sarah Sumimasen, koko wa yonban-sen desu ka.

Passer-by Iie, koko wa goban-sen desu

Yonban-sen wa asoko desu.

Sarah Dōmo arigatō

Chris Tsugi no densha wa jū-ji han desu ne

Ima nan ji desu ka

Conversation 9: On the move

Pharmacist This medicine is good

Please take it three times per day.

Sarah Three times, right?

Pharmacist Yes Please take it after meals.

Sarah Understood Thank you.

Chris Two tickets for Kyoto, please.

Ticket offi cer Is that one way or return?

Chris It’s return.

Ticket offi cer Altogether it’s 32,000 yen.

Chris There you go What time is the next train?

Ticket offi cer Half past 10 Platform 4.

Chris Thank you.

Sarah Excuse me, is this platform 4?

Passer-by No, this is platform 5

Platform 4 is over there.

Sarah Thank you.

Chris The next train is half past 10, isn’t it?

What time is it now?

Sarah Ima jū-ji jūgo fun desu.

Chris Jā, kōhii o kaimashō.

Conversation 10: Visiting

PART 1: WELCOME TO MY HOME

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Sarah and Chris Gomen kudasai!

Mrs Ueno Ā, Chris-san, Sarah-san! Yoku irasshaimashita.

Chris and Sarah Konnichiwa

Mrs Ueno Dōzo, o-hairi kudasai!

Sarah Shitsurei shimasu

Mrs Ueno Kochira e dōzo … O-kake kudasai.

Chris Shitsurei shimasu

***

Mrs Ueno Kyōto wa dō omoimasu ka

Sarah Totemo kirei da to omoimasu.

Chris O-tera mo jinja mo subarashii

desu ne

Mrs Ueno Doko ni ikimashita ka.

Sarah Kinkakuji, Ginkakuji, Ryōanji

sō desu ne

Subete ikimashita!

Chris Ashita Nijōjō ni ikimasu.

Mrs Ueno Sō desu ka Nijōjō wa totemo yūmei desu yo

Insight

The honorifi c prefi x o is used before certain words to make

them polite – o-kyaku (guest), o-sushi (sushi), o-tera (temple)

It is also used in front of the root of verbs to create respectful

speech – o-kake kudasai (please sit down), o-hairi kudasai

(please come in).